Ramaphosa blew it and should pull the plug on Eskom – Steenhuisen

On the issue of state banks, he said the president's idea for the creation of one was questionable as the current ones were riddled with corruption.


During President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation (Sona) debate on Tuesday, DA interim leader John Steenhuisen warned that the state could not have a repeat of Thursday where the EFF disrupted parliament demanding former president FW de Klerk and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan to vacate the premises.

While criticising the EFF for their actions, Steenhuisen said Ramaphosa blew it. He accused Ramaphosa of not being decisive.

“There is no new dawn but a new despair.

“You are the man who dared us to dream but led us into a nightmare.”

While highlighting that Ramaphosa needed to take a decisive stance on Eskom, he said euthanasia was sometimes necessary.

“You needed to tell people that Eskom is dead, you needed to make it clear that keeping Eskom alive was irresponsible and immoral.

“On Thursday, you should have pulled the plug on Eskom and the NHI (National Health Insurance).”

He reiterated that expropriation without compensation would not have the desired results.

“Expropriation without compensation is nothing but a ruse. It’s a populist idea, weaponised by the EFF, and it will lead you down the rabbit hole.

“You could have abandoned cadre deployment, as it is the midwife of state capture.”

The DA has been offering possible solutions on electricity for years.

On the issue of state banks, he said Ramaphosa’s idea for the creation of one was questionable as the current ones were riddled with corruption.

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